Clutch plays lift BHS girls

So, how did the Bartlesville High School power past the Owasso Lady Rams in Thursday's varsity volleyball war of nerves?

So, how did the Bartlesville High School power past the Owasso Lady Rams in Thursday’s varsity volleyball war of nerves?

Was it Shanaye Nordic’s 12-kill, 3.5-block performance?

Was it the 20 assists apiece by new full-time setters Emma Farr and Kailey Britt?

Was it the 44 total kills, eight aces and 13 blocks?

Veteran Lady Bruin head coach Tom Williams had a much simpler answer.

“We came up with the big play when we needed it,” the ecstatic Williams said after watching his Lady Bruins defeat the Lady Rams, 25-19, 22-25, 25-23, 25-21, in Bartlesville’s season home opener.

“It was back and forth all night,” said Williams, who witnessed his team squander a nine-point lead, 14-5, in the third game only to fall behind, rally and win. “We hung together, which was one of the keys. … I kept telling the girls to ‘relax and play your game.’”

And play their game, the unbeaten (2-0) Lady Bruins did.

Roni Courtney delivered the next-most kills (10), followed by Sammy Polk with nine, Blair Koster with six, Sara Jane Grisham with five and Farr with two.

Ashley Fouts and Nordic both racked up 3.5 blocks, followed by Polk and Koster with two apiece.

Britt, Farr, Polk and Nordic each served two aces.

Unsung hero Megan Kibler played as steady at libero as an August sunrise in a clear sky. She successfully made several good passes off serves to the back middle.

Next up, the Lady Bruins play this weekend in the Broken Arrow tourney. They will be home again Tuesday to take on Booker T. Washington.

Following is a game-by-game breakdown from Thursday’s win:

Bartlesville 25, Owasso 19

With the freshman Britt ripping an ace serve to tie the match, 2-2, the Lady Bruins surged to a 9-5 lead after Fouts and Nordic combined on a block point.

But, the spirited Lady Rams came back to tie the game, 9-9, with Katie Hendrix serving four-straight points.

Bartlesville broke Hendrix’ serve when Courtney hammered a rightside kill, off a back set by Britt, to put the Lady Bruins back on top, 10-9. They led the rest of the way.

Nordic’s thunderous kill a few minutes later stretched the Lady Bruin lead to six, 15-9.

Bartlesville tied its biggest lead of seven points when Koster blasted a kill, off Farr’s set.

Owasso pulled late to within three, 22-19.

But, the Lady Bruins finally won it on Courtney’s blistering rightside kill, which created a corridor of pain for Owasso.

Owasso 25, Bartlesville 22

Owasso clung tenaciously to the lead most the way.

The Lady Bruins finally inched ahead, 14-13, on a service point by Farr.

But, Bartlesville struggled to score on offense, which allowed Owasso to hang tight.

The Lady Rams scored a crucial block point by Katy Webber to go up, 22-20, in the end stretch.

Owasso won it on Amanda Johnson’s kill.

Bartlesville 25, Owasso 23

This match had more twists and turns than pretzels caught in a tornado.

With Kibler opening up the scoring with a service point, Bartlesville blasted out to a 14-5 lead.

The Lady Bruins made some gritty plays to fuel their momentum to that point.

Koster ripped a cross-court kill to make it a 3-2 game. Moments later, she produced a save on a fiery hit by Owasso, which led to a Bartlesville block point.

A bit later, Grisham’s backdoor kill moved the Lady Bruins to a six-point lead, 11-5.

Bartlesville went ahead by eight, 13-5, on Nordic’s ace save. Another Nordic service point elevated the Lady Bruins to a 14-5 advantage.

But, then Owasso made its move.

The Lady Rams began delivering service bullets that took the Lady Bruins out of sync and changed the flow of the game.

Sarah Jones served five straight points for Owasso to cut Bartlesville’s lead to one point, 17-16.